Monday, April 10, 2017

LICENSING THE INTERNET TO FIX FAKENEWS

Mar 26, 2017 Popular German Streamers Told They Now Require License By Government.When the FakeNews meme broke a few months ago astute observers understood this was going to be cover for licensing the Internet. But the German Government of Angela Merkel has found a much simpler way of bringing the free Internet under state control.

Popular German YouTube and Twitch channel PietSmiet has been told it will need a license to continue to stream. German broadcast authority the Landesmedienanstalt has temporarily ruled that live-streaming requires a broadcasting license, which costs between €1,000 and €10,000 depending on the number of viewers. Those without a license will technically be classed as a pirate station and could be shut down. Germany is not alone in enforcing this kind of legislation. China also requires certain streamers to hold a license in order to broadcast content. (...) The ruling has mainly been made to prevent TV and radio stations from billing themselves as streaming companies in order to avoid paying a broadcasting license. (...) Will this affect UK streamers? (More)

Jan. 30, 2017

EU THREATENS FACEBOOK WITH LEGAL ACTION

The EU is putting disproportional pressure on Facebook to root out Fake News, citing "recent events" meaning the EU Presidential election. The continuous pressure, spearheaded by the Merkel Government in Germany, stands in no comparison to the relatively small problem. Most false news reports are emanating from Russia and is very easy to spot. Sources and argumentation is usually omitted. We have to read to the conclusion of the article in FT to get an inkling of what the EU is working towards.

Mark Lewis, a media lawyer with Seddons, questioned whether self-regulation would ultimately work for global social media platforms (...) “Those who are banned on Twitter, for example, can set up the same day with a new account. The simple expedient of ID checks would avoid that.”

So that's it! EU Internet permits would have only advantages from the point of view of the EU. 1. Anonymity would be a thing of the past. 2. Online behavior can be regulated. 3. Dissent can be flushed out. 4. And last but not least, it would provide a tax base for the EU, a competence reserved for real states, what the EU desperately aspires to be! This is how it's always been done, wireless radio and television went the precise same way. Gird your loins for EU regulation of the Internet.

Oct. 15, 2016

GOOGLE OFFERS GOVT APPROVED TRUTH LABEL

Orwellian. Efforts to make sure certain facts and views are hard to find or are discredited in the last free frontier.

The globalists are moving at lightning speed. Obama wants a truthiness test, so Google gives him one as a courtesy to the Government. So now let's fact-check if it's true that pigs may fly.

With eerie timing, Google launched its new "fact check" feature right around two speeches yesterday and today where Obama slyly attacked conservative media as unreliable and untruthful and called for online censorship. According to BBC, Google's new feature will discriminately select its own "fact check" articles and attach them to the top news headlines of a particular topic. (...) Google says it's doing this to "shine a light on its efforts to divide fact from fiction." In other words, they want to determine for you what is true and false on the internet. But as has been clearly shown in this election cycle, fact checking is often biased and based on opinion mixed with facts, and Google has been regarded as a company that leans left. U.S. News & World Report even did a story a couple years ago showing just how incredible bias mainstream media fact checks are against Republicans. See Obama's attack on Rush Limbaugh and conservative media Friday. And see Obama's attack on conservative media Thursday. (Source)

RED ALERT! OBAMA WANTS TO CENSOR THE INTERNET!

On Oct. 1 Obama signed administration of the free Internet over to a globalist entity. In the video above we hear Obama talking at the Frontiers Conference on Oct. 13. A better name would have been the No Frontiers Confab. The Frontiers Conference was co-sponsored by The White House, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh. It brought "together some of the world's innovators in Pittsburgh to discuss how science and technology frontiers will help improve lives, including progress and investments that are keeping America and Americans on the cutting edge of innovation." That apparently doesn't include objective reality, but rather Obama's subjective version.

President Barack Obama floated the notion of a test for media organizations, griping about the wide-spread existence of alternative media available in America. He was critical of the current Wild West online environment where people could say anything on social media or on news websites. “We are going to have to rebuild within this wild-wild-west-of-information flow some sort of curating function that people agree to,” he said. Throughout his presidency, Obama has repeatedly complained about the existence of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, causing division amongst Americans and making his job difficult, but he rarely offers a solution. This time, Obama floated the notion of a media test during at a speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Thursday. “There has to be, I think, some sort of way in which we can sort through information that passes some basic truthiness tests and those that we have to discard because they just don’t have any basis in anything that’s actually happening in the world,” he said. (More)

Sep. 22, 2016

TRUMP WANTS AMERICAN CONTROL OF INTERNET

When the Obama administration announced its plan to give up U.S. protection of the internet, it promised the United Nations would never take control. But because of the administration’s naiveté or arrogance, U.N. control is the likely result if the U.S. gives up internet stewardship as planned at midnight on Sept. 30.

Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has sided with the sovereignty of the American people against international elites yet again by coming out in public opposition to President Barack Obama’s internet giveaway to a United Nations globalist body. (...) According to the latest polling on the issue, conducted by Breitbart News Network and Gravis Marketing, just 14 percent—a slim minority—support what President Obama is trying to do with the internet. A whopping 41 percent, meanwhile, oppose it, and 44 percent were unsure. That survey was conducted in late August, and polled 1,493 likely voters—with a margin of error of 2.5 percent. We urge Republicans to hold firm and stop the Internet giveaway by forcing the Obama administration to renew the vendor contract with ICANN for a two-year period. This would allow a Trump administration to do a full review on whether the transition should occur and whether ICANN should even continue as the U.S. government’s vendor in administering the Internet’s naming and numbering functions. (...)

Net Neutrality: Where's Your Internet License?

Net neutrality is a Government solution for a problem that does not even exist. But just in case Internet providers one day might start hating their customers, Government regulation would turn the free information highway into a regulated utility, like the ehm you know, the Ministry of Information?

Proponents of Government intervention say that 'net neutrality' will "save the Internet." But does the Internet need saving?

Government regulation (whatever the consequences) is antithetical to freedom. As such, net neutrality is the political exploitation of a free medium that is not publicly owned. In other words, it's a power grab, nationalization in our time. But to some people everything is political and they would gladly turn the free information highway into a public utility. The proponents can't even be honest about it: here's the hypocrisy of it all! And perhaps it is no great surprise that Soros appears to be behind the power grab.

Net Neutrality: a Solution Looking For a Problem

Government assault on the free flow of information continues. Obama has transfered the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)on Oct. 1, 2016 to the control to a globalist entity, calling for censorship. The EU is threatening legal action against fake news.

Government intervention for a level playing field! Except that equalizing can only be done downward, which is a pity if you're looking for quality.

Snowden Affair Has 'the Kremlin's Finger Prints'

Hero and patriot Ed Snowden has revealed an array of state surveillance networks, from the US to EU countries like the UK and France. He has now outed himself as a CIA spook. Oct. 23, 2014 HLS Professor Lawrence Lessig interviewde Edward Snowden op de Harvard Law School op 20 okt. jl.

“Snowden is a pawn in a hostile and continuing intelligence and information-warfare operation“

So concludes Edward Lucas in a fascinating and easy-to-read brief look at the greatest intelligence disaster the West has ever experienced. The story of Edward Snowden as a conscience-wracked employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) who was moved to steal 1.7 million documents, leak some of them to the global press, and then flee to Russia, quite by accident, because of the overweening hand of American security services, just does not stand up to investigation. The primary reason for this is: the Snowden exposures have unearthed no wrong-doing. To be more precise: when they expose mistakes made by the intelligence agencies they also expose a vast and effective oversight mechanism that has corrected these mistakes. Lucas gives the following example:

“Since 2011 some 56,000 e-mails of ‘US persons’ have been improperly read, a judgment from the FISA court reveals. But it is worth noting, first, that this was a list of errors which the NSA itself logged and reported—hardly the sign of a systematic cover-up or intentional abuse. Second, as a share of total e-mail traffic, measured in many billions, the number is vanishingly small.”

In truth, “the really striking thing about the revelations to date (which are presumably cherry-picked to portray the NSA and its allies in the worst possible light) is the conscientious, tame and bureaucratic approach they reveal.” Lucas notes the unseemliness of “civil liberties” activists campaigning against their own government for not living up to its democratic values while arrogating to themselves sole discretion on which secret programs should be exposed. Flawed as elected governments may be, they are damn sight better than unelected activists motivated by a hatred of the culture that shelters them in judging what is and is not in the interests of national security. This unseemliness grows more apparent still when these activists all move so closely in the orbit of a dictatorship like Vladimir Putin’s. (Source)

July 6, 2014

European Court of Justice Dismantles the Internet

In response to a recent legal decision in Europe, Google has released a new form for its European users that will allow them to request that links to certain articles about them be removed from the search engine. While European privacy advocates who have been pushing for a "right to be forgotten" may applaud this effort, the impact on the flow of information across the Internet is substantial. As Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard Law School puts it, "The most important harm of this decision is not to the search engine companies, but to the public at large, and its ability to find accurate public information." Rather than an open and public exchange of information, Europe's new law injects an online censor to govern the accessibility of freely available public information. (...) Privacy is an important issue, and the Internet has reshaped expectations of privacy. But a heavy-handed decision by data bureaucrats with unwieldy implementation implications does little to promote meaningful Internet policy. (...) The ECJ decision has the potential to dismantle the Internet and limit Internet user access to information that is clearly public in nature. This is a significant retreat from free speech and open inquiry and a true threat to Internet freedom. (Source)

June 6, 2014

Vodafone: governments tapping private phone calls

Fears government agencies can listen in to private mobile phone calls at the ‘flick of a switch’ after Vodafone reveals authorities use secret wires across its entire network which stretches to 29 countries. In six of the countries in which Vodafone operates the wires are a legal requirement, with laws obliging telecommunications companies to install direct-access pipes or allowing governments to do so.

Vodafone said direct-access wires or pipes allowed authorities to listen in

Conversations can be listened to or recorded and metadata can be tracked

Mobile phone giant released report to highlight widespread use of tapping

Direct-access pipes said to be illegal in UK because agencies need warrant

Civil rights groups described revelation as 'unprecedented and terrifying'

Snowden Outs Himself As A CIA Spook

NBC's interview with Edward Snowden.UPDATE: Edward Snowden gave a wide-ranging interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams in Moscow, in which he discussed his life in exile since leaking classified documents about the U.S. government's mass surveillance programs. The effects of Snowden's leaks were felt in Washington this week, as the House moved to pass a bill to end the NSA's bulk collection of domestic data. That Snowden outs himself as a CIA spook, requires us to a re-appraisal of his character in accordance with this analysis. According to some, NSA/Obama violated the 4th Amendment, giving Snowden the moral and legal right to act as he did. Here's one extraordinarily intelligent young man, a valiant patriot and a true hero. The exclusive interview will air Wednesday, May 28, at 10 p.m. ET.

Republican senator Rand Paul is suing President Obama for violating the Fourth Amendment. Judge Jeanine talks about the class action with Jay Sekulow and Matt Kibbe. March 16, 2014

Obama Wants the Internet Under Control of Tyrannies

The Obama administration has quietly announced plans to cede control of the Internet to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an international body and non-profit group based out of California, that seeks larger control, over the Internet. (...) International groups have been pressuring the United States for years to cede control of the Internet to an “International” body. Everyone can understand why these groups want that. It erodes American power and it degrades liberty online.
The United States is one of the very few countries to have nearly unlimited freedom of speech for anything short of actual death threats. The “freedom” of the internet is largely defined by an American standard. Without that standard, you end up with the definitions of free speech that preclude controversial political commentary and blasphemy.
Just about everything you read at Front Page is potentially illegal even in many Western countries. Add on Third World countries and places like Russia and China and it just goes straight into the illegal box. (...) International Telecommunication Union control would be bad enough. It’s everything wrong with the UN in one package, corrupt Third World types, politically correct mandates and total incompetence.
And the OIC is already moving through the back door (...) (Source)

Feb. 19, 2014

Rand Paul Suing Obama, NSA for rights violation

In the latest fallout from the Snowden leaks, which exposed illegal government snooping, Paul is joining with the Tea Party-aligned FreedomWorks group in suing Obama, the NSA and the FBI for violation of Fourth Amendment rights. Paul is confident the case will go all the way to the Supreme Court. The Fourth Amendment is designed to protect Americans from unreasonable searches, something Paul says Obama has publically refused to stop.Yaron Brook, director of ARC explains how the NSA spying business is caught up with the War of Terror. Which is caught up with a book titled "Winning the \Unwinnable War".

Feb. 13, 2013

Edward Snowden: From Patriot to Most Wanted

"He was politically conservative, a gun owner, a geek – and the man behind the biggest intelligence leak in history", writes The Guardian. The left try to paint him as a conservative turn coat who went 'good'. In fact, Edward Snowden was and is a protector of Liberty (Source)Feb. 11, 2014

Today We Fight Back Against Govt Mass Surveillance

Today is The Day We Fight Back www.thedaywefightback.org @DayWeFightBack against government masss surveillance. It's not too late to add banners to your site, email/call Congress, or sign the petition. Pomonews.com proudly joined the fray for Liberty. (Source)Feb. 1, 2014

The Internet Is Compromized. What Can You Do?

The Internet is compromised. It has been completely and silently militarized without our knowledge. Figuratively, at every pathway of the Internet there is an hidden control point where anybody transiting is monitored and potentially harassed.
In addition, in order to successfully establish this massive amount of control over global communications, technology has been intentionally weakened and subverted and kept vulnerable, leaving all of us exposed with no possible remediation or way to challenge this status.
The Internet has always been considered the last frontier of liberty, where freedom of communication, speech and expression were still possible. This isn’t true anymore, and probably hasn’t been for a long while. (...) What can you do? (Source) H/t @ADeWolff

Jan. 13, 2014

US Defense Dept. Sigint Activities in Frisian Village

Dutch Parliament has requested the Government to clarify alleged activities of the American Defense Department in the Frisian village of Burum, site of a large satellite groundstation of the NSO, a military intelligence service. NSO is collecting sigint also for the Dutch secret services. (Source, Dutch)
Just in: viral request by the Consensus Bureau... hmm "Groovy Snowden"Jan. 4, 2014

Rand Paul leads class action lawsuite against NSA

Federal Judge Finds NSA Surveillance legal

A federal judge on Friday found that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records is legal and a valuable part of the nation's arsenal to counter the threat of terrorism and "only works because it collects everything."
U.S. District Judge William Pauley said in a written opinion that the program "represents the government's counter-punch" to eliminate al-Qaida's terror network by connecting fragmented and fleeting communications.
"This blunt tool only works because it collects everything," Pauley said. "The collection is broad, but the scope of counterterrorism investigations is unprecedented."
He said the mass collection of phone data "significantly increases the NSA's capability to detect the faintest patterns left behind by individuals affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations. Armed with all the metadata, NSA can draw connections it might otherwise never be able to find."
He added that such a program, if unchecked, "imperils the civil liberties of every citizen" and he noted the lively debate about the subject across the nation, in Congress and at the White House.
"The question for this court is whether the government's bulk telephony metadata program is lawful. This court finds it is. But the question of whether that program should be conducted is for the other two coordinate branches of government to decide," he said.
In ruling, the judge noted the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and how the phone data-collection system could have helped investigators connect the dots before the attacks occurred. (Source)Dec. 25, 2013

Edward Snowden's Christmas message

Snowden EP Video Appearance Postponed

Parliamentary leaders of the European Parliament voted Thursday to allow the planned video appearance of the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to take place despite an attempt by conservative members of the European People's Party (EPP) to block it.
The American former intelligence contractor will answer questions that had been submitted by members of the parliament in a pre-recorded video message that will be shown at a sitting of the interior and justice committees.
"We now have a clear mandate to send written questions to Snowden, and I hope that he can answer this with a video message by mid-January," said Jan Philipp Albrecht, who, as a representative of the German Green Party in the European Parliament, is coordinating the body's NSA investigation. Snowden's video message was originally planned for Dec. 18, but the dispute over his questioning necessitated a postponement. (Source)Nov. 5, 2013

What's New? Everyone Is In the Spy Business

Britain is using its Berlin embassy to spy on the nearby Bundestag, as well as the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Concern was raised following the latest Snowden revelations and prompted the German FM to invite the British ambassador 'for a talk'.
The news comes just one week after the alleged closure of an American listening ‘nest’ just 150 meters away from the British embassy, which is believed to be damage control following the embarrassing details of how the US itself is listening in on Merkel.
NSA documents leaked by Snowden, and supported by satellite photographs and related information about past spying activities, talk of high-tech listening equipment perched right on top of the British embassy, the Independent revealed in an exclusive. (...) The roof of the British embassy appears to contain a white, box-like structure that only shows up when photographed from above. The suspected listening device has been mounted atop the roof since the embassy’s opening in 2000. Germany’s centers of political power are all built around the Brandenburg Gate, within easy reach of the facility’s equipment. (Source)

In a separate report RT says that The German Ministry of Internal Affairs is contemplating questioning Edward Snowden in Moscow over the ongoing US spying scandal. Germany believes its transatlantic alliance with the US could be harmed if it were to offer asylum to the whistleblower.
The possibility of interviewing Snowden in Russia does exist, interior ministry spokesman Jens Teschke said on Monday, as another official voiced simultaneous concern over the German-US relationship. (Source)Nov. 4, 2013

"A Manifesto for the Truth", by Edward Snowden

This article "A Manifesto for the Truth" by Edward Snowden was published last Sunday in Der Spiegel. It was written on November 1, 2013 in Moscow and was sent to Spiegel staff over an encrypted channel.

In a very short time, the world has learned much about unaccountable secret agencies and about sometimes illegal surveillance programs. Sometimes the agencies even deliberately try to hide their surveillance of high officials or the public. While the NSA and GCHQ seem to be the worst offenders – this is what the currently available documents suggest – we must not forget that mass surveillance is a global problem in need of global solutions.
Such programs are not only a threat to privacy, they also threaten freedom of speech and open societies. The existence of spy technology should not determine policy. We have a moral duty to ensure that our laws and values limit monitoring programs and protect human rights. (Source)

Oct. 31, 2013

EU Calls to Suspend Trade Deal Over NSA Tapping

EU leaders are calling for the suspension of a trade pact with the US worth billions of dollars over NSA spying. The 28-nation bloc suspects the so-called 'Safe Harbor' deal is being undermined by US espionage and has demanded safeguards for EU citizens.
The EU’s top politicians have slammed Washington for a “breakdown of trust” and seek guarantees for the safety of EU customer data.
“For ambitious and complex negotiations to succeed there needs to be trust among the negotiating partners,” EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Wednesday in a speech at Yale University.
The Safe Harbor agreement has been in place for 13 years (Source)

NSA spied on the Conclave, Sistine Chapel, Pope

The National Security Agency spied on the future Pope Francis before and during the Vatican conclave at which he was chosen to succeed Benedict XVI, it was claimed on Wednesday.
The American spy agency monitored telephone calls made to and from the residence in Rome where the then Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio stayed during the conclave, the secret election at which cardinals chose him as pontiff on March 13.
The claims were made by Panorama, an Italian weekly news magazine, which said that the NSA monitored the telephone calls of many bishops and cardinals at the Vatican in the lead-up to the conclave, which was held amid tight security in the Sistine Chapel.
The information gleaned was then reportedly divided into four categories — “leadership intentions”, “threats to financial system”, “foreign policy objectives” and “human rights”.
At that time, Benedict XVI was Pope, suggesting that the Vatican may also have been monitored during the last few weeks of his papacy. (Source)Oct. 29, 2013

Feinstein Dumps on NSA, 'Totally Screwed Now'

One of the National Security Agency's biggest defenders in Congress is suddenly at odds with the agency and calling for a top-to-bottom review of U.S. spy programs. And her long-time friends and allies are completely mystified by the switch.
"We're really screwed now," one NSA official told The Cable. "You know things are bad when the few friends you've got disappear without a trace in the dead of night and leave no forwarding address."
In a pointed statement issued today, Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein said she was "totally opposed" to gathering intelligence on foreign leaders and said it was "a big problem" if President Obama didn't know the NSA was monitoring the phone calls of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said the United States should only be spying on foreign leaders with hostile countries, or in an emergency, and even then the president should personally approve the surveillance.
It was not clear what precipitated Feinstein's condemnation of the NSA. It marks a significant reversal for a lawmaker who not only defended agency surveillance programs -- but is about to introduce a bill expected to protect some of its most controversial activities. (Source) H/t @TigrisJulesOct. 26, 2013

NRA and ACLU in suit against NSA surveillance program

Now here's an unlikely duo: the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association.
The two have bonded in their fight against the National Security Agency's mass spying program that came to light in June. The NRA joined the ACLU's lawsuit against the government agency on Wednesday by filing a "friend of the court" legal brief.
"The mass surveillance program threatens the First Amendment rights of the NRA and its members," the NRA writes in the brief (PDF). "The mass surveillance program could allow identification of NRA members, supporters, potential members, and other persons with whom the NRA communicates, potentially chilling their willingness to communicate with the NRA."
The ACLU filed its lawsuit, ACLU vs. Clapper, in federal court in New York. The suit aims to get a preliminary injunction issued against the NSA that will stop its phone-surveillance program and also force the agency to expunge all of its phone call records.
Besides the NRA, other groups have also signed onto the lawsuit, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom and several news organizations. The ACLU welcomes the array of support. (Source)

Oct. 24, 2013

White House Vague if NSA tapped Angela Merkel

The October EUCO is in large part about the Snowden revelations that the NSA has been tapping calls in France and in the Netherlands; even Angela Merkel appears to have been a victim. The White House is vague on the issue: Jay Carney has said there are currectly no taps that he is aware of, but was unclear whether this was the case in the past. Merkel has had a serious talking to with the Obama last night.21 okt. 2013

Snowden: 'Russia and China Don't Have Access to Secrets'

Edward Snowden says that he did not take any secret NSA documents to Russia and that intelligence officials in China as well as Russia could not get access to the documents he had obtained before leaving the United States.
In an interview with The New York Times, Snowden said he handed over all the documents he had obtained to journalists during his stay in Hong Kong. The newspaper posted its story on its website Thursday. (Source)

In other news: The NSA last year tapped 1,8 million phone calls in the Netherlands in one month alone, documents revealed by Edward Snowden show. (Source (Dutch))Oct. 18, 2013

Skype Under Investigation by Luxemburg's Data Protection

Internet-based calling service Skype is under investigation by Luxembourg's data protection authorities over its involvement with the US National Security Agency’s Prism internet surveillance programme.
The Microsoft-owned company could potentially face criminal and administrative sanctions, including a ban on passing users' communications covertly to the NSA, according to the Guardian. Luxembourg’s data protection chief Gerard Lommel and Microsoft have both declined to comment, the paper said.
Skype is headquartered in Luxembourg and could face an additional fine if an investigation initiated by data protection authorities concludes that the data sharing violated the country's data-protection laws.
The investigation was ordered after whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about the Prism program uncovered links between the NSA and Skype. (Source)Oct. 15, 2013

Snowden: "NSA Harvests our Online Address Books"

The Washington Post has unearthed a new controversial tactic from the National Security Agency — harvesting data from the online address books of American citizens.
Citing classified documents given to the Post by former NSA contractor turned leaker Edward Snowden, the paper reports that the organization intercepts email contact lists to piece together connections and map the digital relationships of millions, including unsuspecting Americans, in the name of finding potential terror connections. (Source)

Oct. 12, 2013

Edward Snowden Surfaces and Gets it Exactly Right

Here's the first video of Edward Snowden since he went under ground in Russia. And he gets it exactly right: it is not about any particular program, but about a trend in the relationship between the governed and the government. It's about liberty. When the governed are subjected to arbitrary rule by the government, that's called tyranny.

Oct. 4, 2013

Biometrics: the Next Big Thing to Control Citizens

Here's a means of control that wants close monitoring by freedom watchers: biometrics and its fields of application, health care and environmentalism.. because, who doesn't want good health care and a clean environment?
The rumour mill around Apple's California headquarters is spinning mighty fast. Word has it that the Silicon Valley tech giant is cooking up a new, market-smashing product to rival the iPod, iPhone and iPad. The smart money is on something to do with biometrics, very possibly an iWatch.
Simon Giles is hoping the word in the blogosphere might prove correct. Global lead for the Intelligent Cities Initiative at management consultancy firm Accenture, he believes biometric data (or "quantified self data" as the wonks call it) is set to become "absolute gold dust" for smart city planners.
"These data sets will increase understanding of individuals, in terms of how they relate to a city and how they perform themselves as kind of human machines, but also how they react with the physical environment within which they are in in cities", states Giles, a former adviser to the World Economic Forum on smart grids and green growth.

Biometric information is generated via sensors in electronic devices, such as GPS, accelerometers, light sensors and so forth. Fit these high tech gadgets with a low energy communication medium such as Bluetooth and the data created can then be read and potentially shared by smartphones and other internet-enabled devices.
Data gold dust
To date, the early running is happening in healthcare. Think portable sleep monitors, Wifi-enabled scales that measure your body fat percentage as well as your weight, heart rate monitors, and so on. Personal fitness is another hot sector for biometrics. Apps such as Endomondo and RunKeeper are helping cyclists and runners keep tabs on their physical exertions as well as track their routes and speed.
From a sustainable city and urban planning perspective, Giles admits that the field of biometrics is "still quite nascent". The potential is enormous, however. (Source)

Aug. 31, 2013

Merkel Govt Has Assisted the NSA Spying on Germans

Edward Snowden has received a whistleblower award, the US' black budget and the Merkel government has been assisting the NSA spying on her own people (German Democratic Republic anyone?)

Aug. 23, 2013

Snowden: "UK government now leaking documents about itself"

It was to be expected that the article in The Independent logged this morning would have a twist in the tail. Here it is in The Guardian, Edward Snowden's newspaper of choice by mouth of journalist Glenn Greenwald:

Snowden: UK government now leaking documents about itself

The NSA whistleblower says: 'I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent'

The Independent this morning published an article - which it repeatedly claims comes from "documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden" - disclosing that "Britain runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies." This is the first time the Independent has published any revelations purportedly from the NSA documents, and it's the type of disclosure which journalists working directly with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have thus far avoided.
That leads to the obvious question: who is the source for this disclosure? Snowden this morning said he wants it to be clear that he was not the source for the Independent, stating:

I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent. The journalists I have worked with have, at my request, been judicious and careful in ensuring that the only things disclosed are what the public should know but that does not place any person in danger. People at all levels of society up to and including the President of the United States have recognized the contribution of these careful disclosures to a necessary public debate, and we are proud of this record.

It appears that the UK government is now seeking to create an appearance that the Guardian and Washington Post's disclosures are harmful, and they are doing so by intentionally leaking harmful information to The Independent and attributing it to others. The UK government should explain the reasoning behind this decision to disclose information that, were it released by a private citizen, they would argue is a criminal act."

In other words: right as there is a major scandal over the UK's abusive and lawless exploitation of its Terrorism Act - with public opinion against the use of the Terrorism law to detain David Miranda - and right as the UK government is trying to tell a court that there are serious dangers to the public safety from these documents, there suddenly appears exactly the type of disclosure the UK government wants but that has never happened before. That is why Snowden is making clear: despite the Independent's attempt to make it appears that it is so, he is not their source for that disclosure. Who, then, is? (...)

UPDATE
The Independent's Oliver Wright just tweeted the following:

For the record: The Independent was not leaked or ‘duped’ into publishing today's front page story by the Government. @ggreenwald
— oliver wright (@oliver_wright) August 23, 2013

Leaving aside the fact that the Independent article quotes an anonymous "senior Whitehall source", nobody said they were "duped" into publishing anything. The question is: who provided them this document or the information in it? It clearly did not come from Snowden or any of the journalists with whom he has directly worked. The Independent provided no source information whatsoever for their rather significant disclosure of top secret information. (Source)

Britain runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies.
The station is able to tap into and extract data from the underwater fibre-optic cables passing through the region.
The information is then processed for intelligence and passed to GCHQ in Cheltenham and shared with the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States. The British Government claims the station is a key element in the West’s “war on terror” and provides a vital “early warning” system for potential attacks around the world.
The Independent is not revealing the precise location of the station but information on its activities was contained in the leaked documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden. (Source)

NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies

The National Security Agency paid millions of dollars to cover the costs of major internet companies involved in the Prism surveillance program after a court ruled that some of the agency's activities were unconstitutional, according to top-secret material passed to the Guardian. The technology companies, which the NSA says includes Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook, incurred the costs to meet new certification demands in the wake of the ruling from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (Fisa) court. The October 2011 judgment, which was declassified on Wednesday by the Obama administration, found that the NSA's inability to separate purely domestic communications from foreign traffic violated the fourth amendment. While the ruling did not concern the Prism program directly, documents passed to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden describe the problems the decision created for the agency and the efforts required to bring operations into compliance. The material provides the first evidence of a financial relationship between the tech companies and the NSA. (Source)

Aug. 21, 2013

UK Defends Holding Journo's Partner Citing Mortal Danger

Facing legal and diplomatic complaints after police held Guardian writer Glenn Greenwald's Brazilian partner for nine hours on Sunday - and accused by the newspaper of forcing it to trash computers holding copies of Snowden's data - the interior minister said officers were entitled to take security measures.
Home Secretary Theresa May said police held David Miranda at a London airport under anti-terrorism powers, which allow for action to prevent stolen data to aid terrorists. Material from Snowden, published by the Guardian, has revealed extensive U.S. and British surveillance of global communications networks.
"It's absolutely right that if the police believe that somebody is in possession of highly sensitive, stolen information that could help terrorists, that could risk lives, lead to a potential loss of life, the police are able to act - and that's what the law enables them to do," May told the BBC. (Source)Aug. 20, 2013

Secret Services Not Just Lawless, Also Very Stupid

After the The Guardian newspaper had published several stories based on Snowden's material, a British official advised the Editor, Alan Rusbridger: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."
It gets better: after further talks with the British government, Rusbirdger says that two "security experts" from Government Communications Headquarters, the British NSA equivalent, visited the Guardian's London offices and in the building's basement, government officials watched as computers which contained material provided by Snowden were physically pulverized. One of the officials jokes: "We can call off the black helicopters." Guardian employees destroyed the computers as government security experts looked on.
What is shocking is that as Rusbridger explained to the gentlemen from Whitehall, they had no jurisdiction over the forced destruction of Guardian property as it has offices in New York, that Greenwald himself was in Brazil, and that future reporting on the NSA did not even have to take place in London. That did not stop the UK government's punitive measures, and obviously neither did pleas, before the computers were destroyed, that the Guardian could not do its journalistic duty if it gave in to the government's requests.
A government official told him that the newspaper had already achieved the aim of sparking a debate on government surveillance. "You've had your debate. There's no need to write any more," the unnamed official was quoted as saying.
What is most shocking is that the UK government was apparently dumb enough to think that by forcing the Guardian to destroy its own hardware it would actually destroy some of the underlying data. It is this unprecedented idiocy that is most disturbing, because when interacting in a game theoretical fashion with an opponent one assumes rationality. In this case, what one got instead, was brute force and sheer, jawdropping stupidity. (Source)Aug. 19, 2013

Partner of Snowden Journo Held Under Terror Law

The partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist at the British paper The Guardian, who broke many of the Snowden revelations, has been detained by the UK under an anti terrorism law. It was an ill disguised attempt at intimidation.

Greenwald writes: I received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as a "security official at Heathrow airport." He told me that my partner, David Miranda, had been "detained" at the London airport "under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act of 2000."
David had spent the last week in Berlin (...) flying first to London and then on to Rio. When he arrived in London this morning, he was detained.
At the time the "security official" called me, David had been detained for 3 hours. The security official told me that they had the right to detain him for up to 9 hours in order to question him, at which point they could either arrest and charge him or ask a court to extend the question time. (...) Before letting him go, they seized numerous possessions of his, including his laptop, his cellphone, various video game consoles, DVDs, USB sticks, and other materials. They did not say when they would return any of it, or if they would.
This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the news-gathering process and journalism. It's bad enough to prosecute and imprison sources. It's worse still to imprison journalists who report the truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of journalists is simply despotic. (Source) (Full story)

Aug. 15, 2013

Snowden Started Downloading Spring 2012 at Dell

Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden began downloading documents describing the U.S. government's electronic spying programs while he was working for Dell Inc in April 2012, almost a year earlier than previously reported, according to U.S. officials and other sources familiar with the matter. (Source)Aug. 14, 2013

Google: 'Gmail Users Shouldn't Expect Privacy'

As tensions worsen among privacy-focused email users amid the escalating scandal surrounding government surveillance, a brief filed by attorneys for Google has surfaced showing that Gmail users should never expect their communications to be kept secret.
Consumer Watchdog has unearthed a July 13, 2013 motion filed by Google’s attorneys with regards to ongoing litigation challenging how the Silicon Valley giant operates its highly popular free email service.
The motion, penned in hopes of having the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismiss a class action complaint against the company, says Gmail users should assume that any electronic correspondence that's passed through Google’s servers can be accessed and used for an array of options, such as selling ads to customers. (Source)

Aug. 13, 2013

Trash Cans That Read Smart Phones

This one is just the latest (?) from Big Brother's tool box. As long as this technology is in the hands of the private sector it is basically harmless. But this is the reality: sooner rather than later it will end up in government hands (for our own safety, of course). And if a technological development is possible, it will happen. This is a translation from a German article:

It's easy to become paranoid these days. For good reason. While Germans are fretting over scanning of emails and meta data tapping by intelligence services, London has already moved on. The city has been fitted out with trash cans with built in spying equipment. The company "Renew" had distributed its trash cans all over the city before the Olympics of 2012. They have been provided with WLAN giving us the latest news. But Renew is currently testing the possibilities of scanning the content of smart phones, so as to adapt commercials to our personal preferences. The technology will be sold to anyone who can use it. Critics are paranoids and an enemy of the economy. (Source) (Original)

Aug. 3, 2013

Latest Snowden Leak: What is XKeyScore?

Ambinder, co-author with DB Grady (nom-de-plume of David Brown) of the January 2013 book Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry, says he and Grady had already documented XKeyscore. From their research, he says, it's clear that the program exists, is not as deep a secret as Greenwald believes – and that it's an organisational and search tool rather than a collection tool.
“XKeyscore is not a thing that DOES collecting; it's a series of user interfaces, backend databases, servers and software that selects certain types of metadata that the NSA has ALREADY collected using other methods. XKeyscore, as D.B. Grady and I reported in our book, is the worldwide base level database for such metadata”, Ambinder writes. (Source)

Aug. 1, 2013

Latest Snowden Leak: "XKeyScore Taps All You Do Online"

The National Security Agency's top-secret program essentially makes available everything you've ever done on the Internet — browsing history, searches, content of your emails, online chats, even your metadata — all at the tap of the keyboard.
The latest information revealed by Edward Snowden comes from XKeyscore training materials. The NSA sums up the program best: XKeyscore is its "widest reaching" system for developing intelligence from the Internet.

This program crystallizes one of Snowden's most infamous admissions from his video interview on June 10: "I, sitting at my desk could wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email."
While US officials denied this claim, the XKeyscore program, as the public understands it, proves Snowden's point. The law requires the NSA to obtain FISA warrants on U.S. citizens, but this is pushed aside for Americans with foreign targets — and this program gives the NSA the technology to do so. The training materials claim XKeyscore assisted in capturing 300 terrorists by 2008. (Source) (Video)

LAWYER, "SNOWDEN HAS REFUGEE STATUS, 1 YR ASYLUM

Snowden left Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after Russia granted him refugee status.
A lawyer who has been assisting Snowden said he had left the airport for a secure location which would remain secret.
"Edward Snowden has successfully acquired refugee status in Russia," the anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks, which is also assisting Snowden, confirmed on Twitter.
His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told state television: "I have just seen him off. He has left for a secure location ... Security is a very serious matter for him." He had hoped to fly to Latin America, where three countries have offered to shelter him, but was concerned that the United States would prevent him reaching his destination. (Source)

July 30, 2013

EU Wants a Fleet of Spy Drones and an Airforce

The EU want their own fleet of espionage drones. The federalists with the God complex also want surveillance satellites and airplanes. The fleet would would be under the command and control of Barones Ashton. Sources within the government have told the Telegraph, that the European Commission and Ashton want military command and communication systems for internal security and defense purposes. Plans will drawn up shortly. (Source)

July 26, 2013

Meet the Super Secret European NSA, INTCEN

Who knew? EU-NSA exists. PDF. It's called the EU Intelligence Centre (INTCEN). Up to 2012 it was called the Joint Situation Centre – SitCen. The EU Council at the time hadn't decided to its foundation, but EU INTCEN was simply called into existence by the EU Foreign Policy czar, Javier Solana (Spanje) and then tranfered to the authority of Catherine Ashton. EU INTCEN is so secret, it ows responsibility to no one. There is some infornmation in a Dutch language book by Katrien Temmerman: "Terreurbestrijding in Belgie en Europa, de interactie tussen inlichtingendiensten, politie en justitie". (Source (Dutch)) It doesn't talk, but you can follow @EUINTCEN on Twitter.

Has Snowden Applied to Join a KGB Union?

Edward Snowden has applied to join a group of former Russian KGB security, intelligence, and police officials, reports say. It would likely change Snowden’s status from that of a whistleblower seeking to expose wrongdoing, to an intelligence defector who has changed sides. Well, not so fast. Perhaps not... “Snowden did not address any letter to any association,” Snowden's lawyer Kucherena told The Moscow News. “Where it came from, whose fabrication it was, it’s difficult for me to say.” Snowden himself denied (...) “It’s surprising that the leaders of this [association] believed it,” Kucherena said.

July 24, 2013

SNOWDEN LEAVING AIRPORT

Snowden and his lawyer Kucherena conversed in the transit zone, according to an Interfax source. UPDATE: Reports are very confused. Earlier it was reported that Edward Snowden was ready to leave the airport. Currently we are advised that Snowden will have to stay at Moscow airport a little longer, as his asylum request is still being reviewed by Russian Immigration Authorities, according to his lawyer.
“The American is currently getting ready to leave. He will be given new clothes. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena will bring the papers he needs to leave the transit zone of the airport,” says Interfax citing a source familiar with the situation. The migration service would not immediately confirm the information. Kucherena, who arrived at the airport at about 4pm Moscow time, had a large paper bag with him. According to ITAR-TASS, he indeed carries all the paperwork needed for Snowden’s release. He went straight to meet the whistleblower in the transit zone without taking time to speak to the journalists, saying he would do so only after consulting with him. (Source)

July 23, 2013

How the NSA Locates Mobile Phones

From an article published this week on WaPo it transpired that the NSA is using an array of espionage programs to locate mobile phones. Terrorists have known this for a long time. They are well aware never to use a mobile phone twice. Phones used as detonators for bombs or for pyro terrorism (to set forest fires) are brand new and never used before. Otherwise they can be traced. It now transpires, by the NSA. A basement at NSA HQ in Fort Meade, Maryland houses the 'Geolocation Cell' team. An array of technology is used to trace the location of phone numbers or to set targets for drone attacks.

A Primer on the Mushrooming NSA
The NSA is mushrooming: It has enlarged all its major domestic sites — in Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Texas and Utah — as well as those in Australia and Britain. Lacking a strong informant network to provide details about al-Qaeda, U.S. intelligence and the military turned to the NSA’s technology to fill the void. The demand for information also favored the agency’s many surveillance techniques, which try to divine the intent of people by vacuuming up and analyzing their communications. One top-secret document recently disclosed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snow­den, who is on the run from U.S. authorities, revealed that 60 percent of the president’s daily intelligence briefing came from the NSA in 2000, even before the surge in the agency’s capabilities began.
“The foreign signals that NSA collects are invaluable to national security,” the agency said in a statement released Friday to The Post. “This information helps the agency determine where adversaries are located, what they’re planning, when they’re planning to carry it out, with whom they’re working, and the kinds of weapons they’re using.” (Source)

July 20, 2013

Secret Court Extends NSA Surveillance Program

A secret court on Friday extended the National Security Agency’s authority to collect and store the phone records of tens of millions of American cellphone customers, the top U.S. intelligence official confirmed.
The decision by the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court amounted to a routine renewal of the legal framework for one of the government’s most sensitive and controversial data-collection programs. But it was the first time U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged the step. (Source: includes View Photo Gallery — Meet the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court: The 11 judges on the panel are selected from the pool of sitting federal judges by the chief justice of the United States. Members serve staggered terms of up to seven years, and at least three must live in the Washington area.)

July 19, 2013

Snowden is a Hero, Greenwald is an Enemy

It has been debated if Snowden is a good American and a hero, or a traitor of his country. Unlike in the episode of Sgt. Manning, no officers have been endangered in the line of duty. The target was not just blind disclosure of state secrets, but the much more fundamental issue of governments forgetting their place and spinning out of control. Yes, Snowden is a hero and he deserves our eternal gratitude. But that does not apply to everyone involved in the story. Glenn Greenwald, journalist at the British Leftist propaganda flagship The Guardian for instance: his knee jerk reactions betray a bias against the liberty alliance which involves the state of Israel. He also appears to be blind for the reverse racism of the new South Africa and the white genocide that is taking place there. There's no mistake: like Assange, Greenwald is an enemy agent. H/t @LibertyLynx

July 18, 2013

Snowden Reporters Sign Book Deals

The reporter central to revealing the massive U.S. government surveillance efforts, The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald has a book deal with Metropolitan Books. Another reporter who has broken news based on documents from Snowden, Barton Gellman of The Washington Post, has a book deal with Penguin Group. (Source)

NSA Admits It Analyzes More People's Data

As an aside during testimony on Capitol Hill today, a National Security Agency representative rather casually indicated that the government looks at data from a universe of far, far more people than previously indicated.
Chris Inglis, the agency's deputy director, was one of several government representatives—including from the FBI and the office of the Director of National Intelligence—testifying before the House Judiciary Committee this morning. Most of the testimony largely echoed previous testimony (...) But Inglis' statement was new. Analysts look "two or three hops" from terror suspects when evaluating terror activity, Inglis revealed. Previously, the limit of how surveillance was extended had been described as two hops. >>

This meant that if the NSA were following a phone metadata or web trail from a terror suspect, it could also look at the calls from the people that suspect has spoken with—one hop. And then, the calls that second person had also spoken with—two hops. Terror suspect to person two to person three. Two hops. And now: A third hop.
Think of it this way. Let's say the government suspects you are a terrorist and it has access to your Facebook account. If you're an American citizen, it can't do that currently (with certain exceptions)—but for the sake of argument. So all of your friends, that's one hop. Your friends' friends, whether you know them or not—two hops. Your friends' friends' friends, whoever they happen to be, are that third hop. That's a massive group of people that the NSA apparently considers fair game. (Source) Related: NSA Chief Keith Alexander: "We thwarted more than 50 potential terrorist plots across the globe".

July 17, 2013

Author Brad Thor: "PRISM is one of the most benign things NSA has"

Best-selling thriller author Brad Thor says that the NSA has programs that are even more invasive than PRISM. "PRISM is one of the most benign things that they’ve got going there," he said. ”There are some other databases that are there that are absolutely amazing." Read here about his new book In HIDDEN ORDER: A Thriller with a free download of the first chapter of the prelude FREE FALL. (Source, includes video interview)

UK Parliament Clears PRISM Data Tap Operations

Britain's intelligence eavesdroppers GCHQ used the US' Prism programme but did not break the law in doing so, MPs and peers have concluded.
The intelligence and security committee (ISC) said it had scrutinised lists of the operations, British individuals and email addresses involved in all requests where GCHQ obtained intelligence from the US. A minister signed the warrant for interception each time GCHQ sought information from the US, the statement confirmed. It also warned that more work was needed to assess exactly how the legal framework governing the transfer of such operations works. (Source)

Snowden Applies For Temp. Asylum in Russia

The Russian Migration Service confirmed it has received whistleblower Edward Snowden’s application for temporary asylum. It can take authorities up to three months to consider his request. In the meantime, Snowden may be transferred to a refugee center.

Former two-term senator Gordon Humphrey (R-New Hampshire) wrote the exiled Mr. Snowden to say, “you have done the right thing in exposing what I regard as massive violation of the United States Constitution.”

Obama administration drowning in lawsuits filed over NSA surveillance. Among others by the Electronic Frontier Foundation; American Civil Liberties Union; the Electronic Privacy Information Center; First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles; Bill of Rights Defense Committee; Calguns Foundation; California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees; Council on Islamic Relations; Franklin Armory; Free Press; Free Software Foundation; Greenpeace; Human Rights Watch; Media Alliance; National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws; Open Technology Institute; People for the American Way, Public Knowledge; Students for Sensible Drug Policy; TechFreedom; and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

July 14, 2013

Greenwald: "Snowden Could Be US' Worst Nightmare"

Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist responsible for publishing some of Snowden’s leaks, has given an important interview in Argentina-based newspaper La Nación. He has stated inter alia the following:

Edward Snowden possesses dangerous information which could potentially lead to America's "worst nightmare" if it is revealed.

But that's not his goal. Snowden's objective is to expose software that people around the world use without knowing what they are exposing themselves to.

The US government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare. Greenwald himself does not have access to the "insurance" documents and played no role in arranging the dead man's switch.

The most important thing [for Snowden] is not to end up in US custody. He described the Obama approach to people who reveal uncomfortable truths as "vindictive".

The oft-repeated claim that Snowden's intent is to harm the US is completely negated by the reality that he has all sorts of documents that could quickly and seriously harm the US if disclosed, yet he has published none of those.

Greenwald hinted that further leaks are possible which are relevant to South America, including documents which outline how the US collects traffic information, the programs used, and the number of interceptions made on a daily basis.

Finns Propose Citizens Privacy Initiative in Honor of Snowden

Finland has launched a citizens' initiative in honor of Edward Snowden to bolster its privacy laws. The 'Lex Snowden' (meaning here the 'Snowden Bill') is a law proposal directly to the parliament, requiring 50,000 signatures. It has three main elements. Firstly, it adds new articles to the Criminal Code to criminalize excessive surveillance of citizens. The second section extends substantially authorities and telecom operators’ liability to report their mass data collection, storage and utilization practices on citizens. The third and the most comprehensive package of aims to close those gaps in the legislation that have been revealed in the case Edward Snowden relating to the protection of whistle-blowers. The proposal would make identification of whistleblowers impossible. Also, their entry or residence permit could no longer be prevented. (Source) H/t @alekrossi

Russia Hasn't Received Snowden's Asylum Application

Russian immigration officials said Saturday they have not received an application from Edward Snowden. On Friday, he met with human rights activists there and said he would seek Russian asylum, at least as a temporary measure before going to Venezuela, Bolivia or Nicaragua, all of which have offered him asylum.
But the Interfax news agency quoted Russian migration service head Konstantin Romodanovsky as saying no asylum request had been received as of Saturday. (Source)

July 12, 2013

WHITE HOUSE, "RUSSIA'S SNOWDEN PLATFORM NOT NEUTRAL"

UPDATE: White House spokesman Carney criticizes Russia for giving Snowden a "platform for propaganda". The US wants Snowden returned to US, said Carney. "Providing a propaganda platform" for Snowden "runs contrary" to Russia's stated neutrality in the case".

Edward Snowden could stay in Russia if he stops issuing leaks that damage the United States, the Kremlin said Friday after the US fugitive told rights activists in a Moscow airport that he is seeking asylum in Russia.
“Mr. Snowden could hypothetically stay in Russia if he: first, completely stops the activities harming our American partners and US-Russian relations and second, if he asks for this himself,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments quoted by Russian news agencies.
(Source) (Video)Snowden has held a presser in Moscow. Big news is that he is applying for political asylum in Russia, despite Putin's condition that he stop publishing. An asylum request by Snowden to Russia puts the Kremlin between a rock and a hard place.

Human Rights Watch's Tanya Lokshina has given a debrief on her meeting with Snowden and his chances of getting asylum in Russia. More from Human Rights Watch's @TanyaLokshina on #Snowden Lokshina: "He says that he wants to go to Latin America eventually but that for the time being he needs asylum here in Russia". Snowden asked attendees for two things: to ask Putin to support his Russian asylum application and to ask US/EU to not interfere with his movements.

Snowden thinks Putin's condition for his asylum - that he must stop damaging Russia's 'American partners' - isn't a problem. Attendee Olga Kostina: "Everything he had wanted to publish he has already published," so Putin's condition is a non-issue. WikiLeaks has posted the statement Snowden read to the human rights groups he invited to today's meeting.

It states inter alia:

The Human Rights Watch representative used this opportunity to tell Mr Snowden that on her way to the airport she had received a call from the US Ambassador to Russia, who asked her to relay to Mr Snowden that the US Government does not categorise Mr Snowden as a whistleblower and that he has broken United States law. This further proves the United States Government’s persecution of Mr Snowden and therefore that his right to seek and accept asylum should be upheld.

“I announce today my formal acceptance of all offers of support or asylum I have been extended and all others that may be offered in the future,” Snowden stated on Friday during his meeting with rights activists and lawyers at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
“With, for example, the grant of asylum provided by Venezuela’s President Maduro, my asylee status is now formal,” his address reads.
Snowden also said that he is going to seek asylum in Russia, since he cannot fly to Latin America yet.

July 11, 2013

Snowden's Latest Shows How Microsoft Gave NSA Access

Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company's own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian.
The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies over the last three years. They also shed new light on the workings of the top-secret Prism program, which was disclosed by the Guardian and the Washington Post last month.
The documents show that:

• Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal;
• The agency already had pre-encryption stage access to email on Outlook.com, including Hotmail;
• The company worked with the FBI this year to allow the NSA easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which now has more than 250 million users worldwide;
• Microsoft also worked with the FBI's Data Intercept Unit to "understand" potential issues with a feature in Outlook.com that allows users to create email aliases;
• In July last year, nine months after Microsoft bought Skype, the NSA boasted that a new capability had tripled the amount of Skype video calls being collected through Prism;
• Material collected through Prism is routinely shared with the FBI and CIA, with one NSA document describing the program as a "team sport".

The latest NSA revelations further expose the tensions between Silicon Valley and the Obama administration. All the major tech firms are lobbying the government to allow them to disclose more fully the extent and nature of their co-operation with the NSA to meet their customers' privacy concerns. Privately, tech executives are at pains to distance themselves from claims of collaboration and teamwork given by the NSA documents, and insist the process is driven by legal compulsion (Source)

Spanish Internet Watchdog Sues Google for Spying

A judge in Spain will investigate criminal complaints that Google captured data from Internet users when it collected photos for its Street View service, the association promoting the rights of Internet users, APEDANICA said.
Judge Raquel Fernandino summoned a legal representative of Google in Spain to appear before her in October over the suit. Google's Street View provides pictures of real-world moments at spots around the world. But there are privacy concerns.
Google revealed earlier this year that electronics in its camera vehicles captured data from wireless Internet systems not secured by passwords.
The company has apologised repeatedly for what it called an accidental data grab, but authorities in more than a dozen countries are investigating whether the company broke privacy laws. (Source) Also suit against UK's TEMPORA, suit against Booz Allen Hamilton as NSA subcontractor H/t @miguelencita @PaulRikmans

July 10, 2013

MEP @ToineMandersEP Caught Tweeting Massive Car Spying Program

Scroll down to July 6 to the log on Euro-US diplomatic relations in tatters over US espionage? Well, hardly a week later a Dutch liberal MEP is caught tweeting about putting RFID chips (Radio Frequency Identification, cheaper than GPS) in European licence plates. (...) Europa.eu doesn't mention anything on the subject. The first lead is a posting dating back to 2008. In the twitter picture is MEP Manders scrutinizing licence plates marked 'RFID'. It's therefore safe to assume Europeans can shortly expect a decree from Brussels mandating chipped licence plates. Quote from the 2008 posting: "European officials hope to increase the ease and accuracy of total vehicle surveillance by switching to RFID." UPDATE: It's still a secret! Manders has removed his tweet. Fortunately we have MANDERSMIRROR. LOLOL: Manders reposted his tweet. Mirror at 4:32PM, new tweet 6:23PM. (Source)

July 7 2013

What are metadata? Try Immersion

Have a gmail account? Want to see what NSA 'metadata' really means? Try Immersion: a people-centric view of your email life using only your metadata

July 6, 2013

Glenn Greenwald has urged Americans to brace for yet another bombshell story in the near future (scroll down for log on July 4)

"Brace for More Snowden Revelations"

Appearing on Fox and Friends Tuesday, Greenwald told Eric Bolling that more revelations are forthcoming regarding “vast programs of both domestic and international spying that the world will be shocked to learn about that the NSA is engaged in without democratic accountability.” He did not provide an exact timeframe. The reporter also accused the President of making an example out of Snowden in order to deter potential future whistleblowers. “I think what the Obama administration wants, and has been trying to establish for the last almost five years now with the unprecedented war on whistleblowers that it is waging, and to make it so that everybody is petrified of coming forward with information about what our political officials are doing in the dark that is deceitful, illegal or corrupt,” Greenwald said. “They don’t care about Edward Snowden at this point. He can no longer do anything that he hasn’t already done. What they care about is making an extremely negative example out of him to intimidate future whistleblowers because they think they’ll end up like him.” the reporter added. (Source)

US-EU DIPLOMACY IN DISARRAY

The leftist presidents of Nicaragua and Venezuela have both offered Snowden asylum.
The offers came one day after the South American leaders gathered to denounce the rerouting of Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane over Europe amid reports that the fugitive American was aboard. (Source)

The US lost no time requesting the extradition of Edward Snowden from Venezuela - full text.In the meantime diplomatic relations between the US and Europe are in total disarray over the NSA spying revelations. Britain - which has been sharing data with the NSA - has blocked the first crucial talks on intelligence and espionage.
The talks, due to begin in Washington on Monday, will now be restricted to issues of data privacy and the NSA's Prism programme. The talks will consist of one working group focused on the NSA's Prism programme. (...) The talks have been arranged to coincide with the trade talks in an attempt to defuse the transatlantic tension. EU diplomats and officials say the offer of talks by the Americans is designed to enable the leaders of Germany and France to save face following revelations about the scale of US espionage – particularly in Germany, but also of French and other European embassies and missions in the US. (...) "We need our own capacities, European cloud computing, EU strategic independence," said Michel Barnier, the French politician and European commissioner for the single market.
Such is the transatlantic and intra-European disarray over the espionage wars, that senior east and west European politicians and intelligence veterans privately suspect a Russian role in the intelligence row. (...) The surveillance dispute led to calls, particularly from France, for the long-awaited negotiations on a transatlantic free trade pact to be delayed. (Source)

The hypocrisy, not to say the absurdity of all this on the part of the Europeans is highlighted by the headline that France is "revealed to be spying on its citizens’ phone calls, email and social media (Source)July 5, 2013The parliament of Iceland has decided not to vote before the summer recess

ICELAND LAWMAKERS PROPOSE SNOWDEN CITIZENSHIP

Icelandic lawmakers have introduced a proposal in Parliament that would grant immediate citizenship to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
Ogmundur Jonasson, whose liberal Left-Green Party is backing the proposal along with the Pirate Party and Brighter Future Party, put the issue before the Judicial Affairs Committee Thursday, but the idea received minimal support.
Snowden is believed to be stuck in a Moscow airport transit area, seeking asylum from more than a dozen countries.
(Source) July 4, 2013Not all revelations make Snowden a hero of the people! Marc Thiessen makes the case for Snowden, the traitor. Oh and Ecuador claims its London embassy, where Assange is holed up, is bugged.. the country will shortly reveal who done it..July 3, 2013

After last night's capers over the sky of Europe the Bolivians apparently are now so angry they seem willing to grant Snowden asylum (Source)

Bolivian Pres. Plane Rerouted as Europeans Fear Snowden Stowaway

The plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales home from Russia was rerouted to Austria on Tuesday after France and Portugal refused to let it cross their airspace because of suspicions that Snowden was on board, the country’s foreign minister said. Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca denied that Snowden was on the plane. Spain allowed the plane to be refueled in its territory. From there the Falcon plane flew on to Vienna. The Bolivians, in full liberation theology mode, blamed the US State Department for "endangering the life of their president". (Source)

The EU and Japan take over Internet from the private sector, turning it into a corporatist public utility. Don't be surprised governments take the right to do mass data tapping.

This initiative brings together the European Commission, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), the National Institute of ICT (NICT) along with European and Japanese industrial players, leading universities and R&D centres, such as Orange, Telefonica, NEC, Panasonic, NTT, KDDI, ADVA, STMicroelectronics and Intel.

July 2, 2013

Snowden's options have narrowed sharply.

Several countries, including Ecuador, said they could not consider an asylum request from Snowden unless he was on their territory.
Norway said he was unlikely to get asylum there, Brazil ruled out even answering his request and Poland said it would not give a "positive recommendation" to any application.
Finland, Spain, Ireland and Austria said he had to be in their countries to make a request, while India said "we see no reason" to accept his petition. France said it had not received a request and China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said she had no information on Snowden's asylum request.
Officials in Russia, which has made clear it wants Snowden to leave, say an embassy car would be considered foreign territory if a country picked him up.

Snowden Withdraws Russian Asylum Request

Snowden has withdrawn his Russian asylum request after Putin said yesterday that Snowden would be welcome on condition that he stops activities that harm the US. Speaking to Reuters in Moscow on Tuesday on the second day of a two-day visit, Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, said Snowden "deserves the world's protection".
He said Venezuela had not yet received an asylum request from Snowden. According to WikiLeaks, Snowden has requested asylum from Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela. Maduro said Venezuela would examine the asylum request once it was received. At least two countries where Snowden requested asylum have said they will not cooperate: Poland and Finland. European allies are probably out of the question. They will not risk relations with the US. (Source)

Snowden makes a strong statement, "unbowed in convictions"

SNOWDEN, "US IS ILLEGALLY PERSECUTING ME"

Edward Snowden has broken his silence.
In a letter to Ecuador seen by Reuters, Snowden said the United States was illegally persecuting him for revealing its electronic surveillance program, PRISM. He also thanked Ecuador for helping him get to Russia and for examining his asylum request. (Source)

RUSSIANS DENY SNOWDEN'S ASYLUM REQUEST

The Russian Federal Migration service (FMS) has refuted media reports which claim that NSA leaker Edward Snowden applied for political asylum in Russia. (Source)

In the meantime Putin says NSA leaker Edward Snowden may stay in Russia, if he wants to, but only if he stops activities aimed against the United States.
“There is one condition if he wants to remain here: he must stop his work aimed at damaging our American partners. As odd as it may sound from me,” Putin told a media conference in Moscow.
In Putin’s opinion, Snowden considers himself “a fighter for human rights” and it seems unlikely that he is going to stop leaking American secret data.
However, Russia is not going to extradite Snowden, the president underlined. (Source)

SNOWDEN APPLIES FOR ASYLUM IN RUSSIA

Snowden has applied for political asylum in Russia, a Russian immigration official said on Monday. According to the official Snowden’s application was hand-delivered to a Russian consulate in Terminal F of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport late Sunday evening by Sarah Harrison, an activist for WikiLeaks traveling with Mr. Snowden.

A Foreign Ministry official told The Los Angeles Times that Snowden had applied to 15 countries for political asylum. The official characterized the applications as “a desperate measure” after Ecuadorean officials said that the Ecuadorean travel document he was using was invalid. He said that the application for political asylum in Russia had not received a response as of Monday evening.
It usually takes a month for an application for political asylum to receive an answer from the Russian government. (Source)

June 30, 2013

"NSA GET LIVE ALERTS WHEN TARGETS LOG ON"

The WaPo has the latest slides regarding the PRISM signal intel program, appearing to confirm some of the initial reports about the nature of US government surveillance.
Notably Snowden's claims that PRISM allows the NSA and FBI to perform real-time surveillance of email and instant messaging, though it's still not clear which specific internet service providers allow such surveillance. (As originally reported, PRISM providers include Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL, and Apple.) In notes accompanying the new slides, the Post claims that "depending on the provider, the NSA may receive live notifications when a target logs on or sends an email, text, or voice chat as it happens." (Source)

MISINFORMATION?

Today we are presented with what may well be a piece of tactically placed misinformation. Yesterday The Guardian (the paper that first broke the Edward Snowden revelations) published an article which has since been pulled.

The item was an "exclusive front-page report about "secret European deals to hand over private data to America" (screen shot left).

The source turned out to be a rather unreliable conspiracy theorist, called Wayne Madsen, an adherent to the 'birther' hypothesis (that Obama wasn't born in the USA and spent millions to cover it up, which is true) and the suggestion that Obama is gay (which probably isn't).

We may be wrong footed here by the time honored technique favored by the left of refuting the story by smearing the source (a variant of blaming the messenger). It is in fact a fallacy, as the aforism of the broken clock which is also right twice a day, attests to.

The effect of misinformation is two fold: it makes that particular story look decidedly dodgy, 2. and is casts doubt on the entire operation. If Madsen is fishy, can Snowden and The Guardian be relied on?

Madsen's news network, World News, seems mainstream enough. No conspiracies there. You be the judge. True or false?

SNOWDEN'S LATEST REVELATION: SPYING ON THE EU

Here's the latest revelation emanating from Edward Snowden on the English language arm of Der Spiegel. This time it was the EU which was spied upon by the NSA:

America's NSA intelligence service allegedly targeted the European Union with its spying activities. According to SPIEGEL information, the US placed bugs in the EU representation in Washington and infiltrated its computer network. Cyber attacks were also perpetrated against Brussels in New York and Washington.

Information obtained by SPIEGEL shows that America's National Security Agency (NSA) not only conducted online surveillance of European citizens, but also appears to have specifically targeted buildings housing European Union institutions. The information appears in secret documents obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden that SPIEGEL has in part seen. A "top secret" 2010 document describes how the secret service attacked the EU's diplomatic representation in Washington. (Source)

ECUADOR: "SNOWDEN MAROONED IN RUSSIA"

Snowden is "under the care of the Russian authorities" and can't leave Moscow's international airport without his U.S. passport, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told AP Sunday.

Correa said he had no idea Snowden's intended destination was Ecuador when he fled Hong Kong for Russia last week. He said the Ecuadorean consul in London committed "a serious error" without consulting any officials in Ecuador's capital when the consul issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. He said the consul would be punished, although he didn't specify how.

Correa said "the case is not in Ecuador's hands" and said Snowden must assume responsibility if he broke U.S. laws. Correa said the broader legitimacy of Snowden's action must be taken into consideration and Ecuador would still consider an asylum request but only if Snowden is able to make it to Ecuador or an Ecuadorean Embassy to apply. "This is the decision of Russian authorities. (...)

Correa's Sunday statement appears to contradict Russia's repeated statements that Snowden is not on Russian territory because he has not left the airport transit area, and he is free to depart whenever he likes. (Source)

June 28, 2013

SNOWDEN'S FATHER SPEAKS OUT

The father of Edward Snowden has told the Justice Department that his son will return home under certain conditions, including no detention before trial and no gag order. He has not spoken with his son since Edward revealed classified information about the National Security Agency's surveillance and data-collection network.
"I love him. I would like to have the opportunity to communicate with him," he tells NBC.
Lonnie Snowden says he informed Attorney General Eric Holder through his lawyer (...) He says he also wants his son to select where a trial will take place. (....) also said he was concerned about some of the people who have surrounded his son, including WikiLeaks, since he has been on the run.
"I don't want to put him in peril, but I am concerned about those who surround him," he says. "I think WikiLeaks, if you've looked at past history, you know, their focus isn't necessarily the Constitution of the United States. It's simply to release as much information as possible." (Source)

June 27, 2013

Snowden Indefinitely in Limbo on Moscow Airport?

Edward Snowden hasn’t been spotted on Thursday’s flight from Moscow to Cuba and has no ticket out of Russia over the next three days. With no valid passport, looks like he's stuck in limbo on Moscow Sheremetyevo indefinitely.
Meantime: Edward Snowden poses trade risks for Ecuador. Ecuador may take two months to decide whether to offer Snowden asylum

June 26, 2013

Snowden Hid Copies In Case Something Happens

A trove of classified documents supplied to The Guardian newspaper by Edward Snowden has been copied, encrypted and shared with several people around the globe, journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian told journalist Eli Lake. Snowden made arrangements to ensure others around the world have encrypted copies of that information should any circumstances allow the data or its source to be compromised.
(Source)

Snowden Moved Out of Moscow Transit Hotel

It has been confirmed that fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden was staying at Express Capsule Hotel in Moscow Sheremetyevo airport, but has recently moved out, Russian media say. (...) Another informed source told Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency Snowden still remains in the airport’s transit area. (...) If transit passengers have a ticket to fly to another destination, as well as visas to enter third countries they may get a transit Russian visa. If Snowden is in possession of such documents, he has the right for a transit Russian visa at a consular service, right at the airport, and he may have done this, the source said. He has not crossed the border into Russia. (Source)

The ground on which China refused extradition is now known: the American paperwork omitted to specify Edward J. Snowden's middle name..

Jun 25, 2013

SNOWDEN IN STILL IN TRANSIT AREA
Putin confims Snowden is still in Moscow Sheremetyevo transit area. His hands are tied! The US regime says Moscow is 'hiding' the whistleblower.

YOU CHOOSE! SECURITY OR LIBERTY?

Here's a moral dilemma for those of choose security above liberty (because that is what privacy means):

West Australia Police Commissioner promises to monitor ALL emails for "anti-Muslim content". WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan is believed to have promised the Islamic Council of WA that his technology crime division will monitor all emails sent and received in WA for anti-Muslim content. Given the nature of the Internet that would include emails from any part of the world. (Source)

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. ~~ Benjamin Franklin

Obama Learns the Meaning of Diminished Power

The postmodern, anti American Obama government may find out that power isn't a thing in itself, but the result of holding values and fight for them. Obama is learning the hard way, that diminished power means less leverage. Watch the frustration building! Here's the fall out, so far:

Snowden Drops Off the Radar As Diplomatic Chaos Ensues

Carney says US government is in touch with countries through which NSA leaker Snowden might travel.

Snowden has given the assembled press the slip.

BREAKING: The White House says they believe they know where NSA leaker Edward Snowden is amid an international manhunt that has taken authorities and journalists around the globe this weekend.
“We have known where he is and believe we know where he is now,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said during a Monday afternoon briefing. “It is our assumption that he is in Russia.”

SNOWDEN ADMITS INFILTRATING NSA

BREAKING: Edward Snowden signed on to work with intelligence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton only to obtain information about the United States’ surveillance programs, the NSA leaker tells the South China Morning Post.

Obama has invoked the espionage act at twice the rate of previous administrations.

The result will be the complete destruction of security journalism.

The US government take on a generation of people who find mass violation of privacy unacceptable.

This is not the way to fix government violations.

The charges against Snowden are not a matter of justice, but of intimidation.

UPDATE: Snowden never checked in or out at Express Capsule Hotel in Moscow airport - hotel staff says

UPDATE: Foreign Minister of Ecuador presser:

"US is in breach 4th and 5th Amendment of US Constitution and of UN human rights", stated Snowden in a letter to the President of Ecuador.

FM: Is it people who've been betrayed, or certain elites?

FM: We don't have information where Snowden presently is.

FM: Ecuador considering asylum request by Snowden

FM: It's "paradoxical” that person who revealed alleged privacy violations is being persecuted

UPDATE: Schumer is seething with the Russian 'allies', Kerry is furious the Chinese let Snowden leave after the US filed extradition charges. The Chinese for their part claim the paperwork wasn't in order. Diplomatically things are now also in disarray. Audio. Video.
Meanwhile a lawyer for Snowden has pointed out that he (Snowden) was told to flee Hong Kong by a middleman claiming to represent the Chinese controlled territory – which evidently could mean the advice was Beijing-backed.
Lawyer Albert Ho, who is also a Hong Kong legislator critical of China, indicated that he was approached by Snowden several days ago, according to Reuters. (Source)UPDATE: US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that America is not aware about the intended travel destination of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden but he "would be deeply troubled" if China and Russia knew about the travel plan. It also said the plane for Havana will cross US air space.

UPDATE: Snowden’s plane leaving Moscow, NSA leaker not seen aboard. The next flight to Havana is at 16:20 local time, in under two hours from now. Audio.

UPDATE: It is a mystery where Snowden is. Apparently in the Moscow transit zone. The ambassador of Ecuador has had talks with his legal party for some hours yesterday. A correspondent for FSN has just boarded the plane to Havana, but so far Snowden's party has not been spotted. Listen to her here. Photo: This where Snowden ought to be, but he is not H/t @ollybarratt @featurestory

June 23, 2013

CONFIRMED, FINAL DESTINATION ECUADOR

Snowden is said to be in Moscow and his allies at WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum. Snowdon has had his U.S. passport revoked.
A U.S. official said his passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. (Source)

NEXT STOP CUBA, VENEZUELA, ECUADOR OR ICELAND

A source at Russia's Aeroflot airline said Snowden would fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then planned to go on to Venezuela. The South China Morning Post earlier said his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland. WikiLeaks said it helped Snowden find "political asylum in a democratic country" (whatever that means).

It added in an update on Twitter that he was accompanied by diplomats and legal advisers and was travelling via a safe route for the purposes of seeking asylum.
"The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person," former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of WikiLeaks and lawyer for the group's founder Julian Assange, said in a statement. (Source)

SNOWDEN IN EXILE, US FILES EXTRADITION

US whistleblower Edward Snowden is en route to Moscow from Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight, Hong Kong authorities have confirmed. WikiLeaks are aiding the ex-CIA employee with his political asylum bid in a 'democratic country'. The US has filed an extradition order against Snowden for espionage, theft and conversion of government property.
A spokesperson from the Hong Kong government confirmed that Edward Snowden had "legally and voluntarily" left the country. (Source)

June 21, 2013

SNOWDEN: "UK TAPS EMAIL, FACEBOOK, BROWSERS"

The Guardian is reporting that British intelligence, is directly tapping into fibre optic cables for worldwide, international phone and Internet traffic. This information was revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. GCHQ is sharing the information with the American National Security Agency (NSA).

The program, code named Tempora, has been in operation for some 18 months. Taps have been installed on sites where the cables run ashore. On a daily basis some 600 million phone calls are being tapped. Besides phone calls GCHQ is tapping emails, postings on Facebook and computer browsing histories. According to Snowden it's even worse than NSA's PRISM program. About 850,000 NSA personnel have access to the information.

Companies involved in the project were sworn to secrecy. According to an anonymous expert speaking to The Guardian, the selection criteria are secret, and the operation is legal. The source says Tempora has brought a number of serious crimes to light.

JET READY TO FLY SNOWDEN TO ICELAND

Belgian newspaper De Standaard is reporting that a business man from Iceland has prepared a private jet in China to take whistleblower Ed Snowden to Iceland. "Everything is ready from our end. We are waiting for confirmation from the Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs", says Olaf Vignir Sigurvisson. Sigurvisson is CEO of DataCell, a company handling payments for Wikileaks. Iceland is well known for its Internet freedom, but Snowden was afraid the island nation might succomb for pressure from Washington.

UPDATE: A U.S. government watchdog is examining a contractor that conducted a 2011 background investigation into Edward Snowden. Read on..

20 juni 2013

WIKILEAKS AIDING SNOWDEN'S ASYLUM

The New Yorker, "Uncle Sam Is In Your Bedroom"

The June cover of the leftist magazine The New Yorker criticizes the Obama administration over its massive surveillance programs. It shows a giant Uncle Sam looking into a girl's bedroom window as she talks on the phone and uses her computer in bed. The artist, Richard McGuire told the New Yorker, "George Orwell's ghost is shaking his head saying, 'I told you so'". Pic after the jump.

When even Zee Germans are staring open-mouthed at what they call "American-style Stasi methods" you know things have got a little out of hand. German outrage over a U.S. Internet spying program has broken out ahead of a visit by Barack Obama

Microsoft and Twitter join Google and Facebook in wanting government's permission to give public a more detailed list of demands for data from their servers

Snowden's Stunning Dancer Girlfriend (VID & PHOTOS)

Snowdon's stunning dancer girlfriend says Snowden was set to marry her before he fled to Hong Kong. Lindsay Mills (28) says she feels 'adrift'. She wrote on her blog: "My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass". The couple previously went to Hong Kong for a romantic getaway. Mills is a dancer who attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. She performs with the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe. View photos and video of Mills performing..

Snowden Emerges in Hong Kong, Says He'll Fight Crime

Snowden says he is not trying to run from justice. "People who think I made a mistake in picking [Hong Kong] as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality", the South China Morning Post quoted Snowden, 29, as saying. Snowden spoke to the paper from a "secret location" in the city.

He hadn’t been seen since he checked out of a Hong Kong hotel on Monday. "I’m neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American", Snowden said. NSA contracting firm Booz Allen Hamilton discharged Snowden yesterday. Snowden said he would fight extradition.

June 11, 2013

Google Asks Holder to Reveal Details to Salvage Trust

In a letter Google asked Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to reveal information about the number and scope of national security requests for data, including court orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Google already reveals statistics about government requests for user data in its Transparency Reports, but the company is barred from discussing or even acknowledging the existence of FISA orders. In the letter, Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said the company has worked "tremendously hard" to earn its users' trust.
"For example, we offer encryption across our services; we have hired some of the best security engineers in the world; and we have consistently pushed back on overly broad government requests for our users’ data," he wrote.
Read more..

The Fall-Out in Europe

A spokesperson for the European Commission (the EU's executive branch) has told the tech site Gigaom that according to the EC, PRISM is an "American internal affair", even though PRISM is specifically targeting non US citizens outside the USA. According to Gigaom Europe..

"is already in the throes of a wide-ranging debate over data privacy. The EU's new data protection laws are being formulated, with treats in store including enhanced responsibilities for non-EU cloud firms when it comes to protecting the privacy of European citizens. This has prompted a pretty shameless lobbying campaign by U.S. tech firms to see the new rules watered down. Activist members of the European Parliament (MEPs) such as Jan Philipp Albrecht @JanAlbrecht have been fighting back".

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf has disclosed this morning that the Dutch Intellegence Agency AIVD is also using the US spy program PRISM. According to a former agent, PRISM isn't the only program in operation. - H/t @Nessea_

Russia Considering Snowden Asylum

Russia is considering granting political asylum to Edward Snowden, Russian media reported. Snowden dropped off the radar Monday after checking out of a Hong Kong hotel. The revelations of Edward Snowden have been condemned by US lawmakers, who threatened the whistleblower with prosecution.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Monday called Snowden’s NSA leaks an "act of treason". Chairman of the House homeland security subcommittee Peter King stressed that the leaker must be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" and the US should begin "extradition proceedings at the earliest date."

Regina Ip, formerly Hong Kong’s top official overseeing security, told reporters it would be in Snowden’s "best interest to leave Hong Kong", citing an extradition treaty with the US.

"More Will Be Revealed"

Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who revealed classified US surveillance programs leaked by Snowden, told AP that there will be more "significant information" exposed in the near future. "We are going to have a lot more significant revelations that have not yet been heard over the next several weeks and months," Greenwald told AP. Snowden said in his interview with Greenwald:

"I’m willing to sacrifice all [that] because I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people all around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building. The greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome for America, of these disclosures, is that nothing will change".

The question is this: the status of whistleblower may pertain to the revealing of unlawful activities, but what about a government and a political system that has covered its legal tracks, but is morally out of the order? And, the fact that all three US branches signed off in it, does that make it legal or constitutional?

June 10, 2013

Snowden Gone Missing. Is He a Hero or a Villain?

Edward Snowden has gone missing from his hotel in Hong Kong after revealing sensitive information about secret surveillance of people's phone and internet records.
A whistleblower uncovers illegal activity but the police state surveillance was "legal and court-sanctioned". On the other hand, a Senator said today Congress has never approved what the Obama regime ended up doing.

How To By-Pass NSA Data Mining?

Tired of the National Security Agency collecting your personal details? There’s an app for that. In light of reports that the U.S. government has gained direct access to the systems operating Google, Facebook and Apple, the fact the National Security Agency is mining billions of Verizon telephone records for details, a product that has been released by developers in South Africa. The product called Seecrypt is able to block the connections that otherwise would allow the NSA to look at your phone records and find out the details of your calls. "For the app to work, both people wanting to text or call each other must have the application. But when the application is used, the phone company will not know the identity or phone number of the other person on the line. It will only know that the caller used Seecrypt". Read more..

Sub Contractor Throws Snowden under the Bus

Booz Allen Hamilton scrambled to distance itself from Snowden, confirming in a press release that Snowden worked for the company in Hawaii, but noted that he had only been employed by the firm for three months.

"News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter".

A Booz Allen spokesperson declined to comment further. (...) Snowden’s leaks first came to light Wednesday, when the Guardian published a top secret order from the FBI sent to Verizon on behalf of the NSA, demanding the call records of every American customer of Verizon Business Network Services. In the next two days, the revelations of that broad NSA surveillance widened to include AT&T and Sprint, a PowerPoint presentation on an NSA program known as PRISM that boasted of access to the data of Google, Microsoft, Facebook and others, an executive order from President Obama calling for the NSA to draw up a list of cyberattack targets, and an NSA tool known as Boundless Informant for tracking its snooping in countries around the world.
The Verizon order in particular seems to reveal something about the timing of those leaks. Read on..

Snowden Is a Ron Paul Supporter

Edward Snowden donated some $500 to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign in 2012. In 2008, he voted for a third party candidate, but he believed that Barack Obama's presidency would shut down the violation of privacy rights.
He thought to disclose it then, but decided to wait because of Obama's election. But Obama continued with the policies of his predecessor, so Snowden decided to finally blow the whistle.UPDATE: The man who blew the whistle on the biggest data tapping scandal in history has been found. It's the 29 year old technician Edward Snowden, here in the interview confessing he no longer wished to live in a society where an Obama is able to spy on the world's population at will. He is now living under cover in Hong Kong.

In the aftermath of the PRISM spying scandal, the first and logical response was an expected one: lie. The president did it, and so did the various companies implicated in the biggest US surveillance scandal ever exposed. To wit:

Zuckerberg: "Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access to our servers."

Google CEO Larry Page: "We have not joined any program that would give the US government – or any other government – direct access to our servers."

Yahoo: "We do not provide the government with direct access to our servers, systems, or network."

One small problem: they are all lying. The NYT explains just how the explicit handover of private customer data from Corporate Server X to NSA Server Y takes place.

The companies that negotiated with the government include Google, which owns YouTube; Microsoft, which owns Hotmail and Skype; Yahoo; Facebook; AOL; Apple; and Paltalk, according to one of the people briefed on the discussions. The companies were legally required to share the data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. People briefed on the discussions spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are prohibited by law from discussing the content of FISA requests or even acknowledging their existence. (...)

(...) And there you have it: backdoors, locked (and not so locked mailboxes), and internal corporate firewalls in which some employees know everything that is going on and are used as a Chinese Wall scapegoat by everyone else who was shocked there is snooping going on here, SHOCKED.

Essentially, the slide suggests that the NSA also collects some information under FAA702 from cable intercepts, but that process is distinct from Prism.
Analysts are encouraged to use both techniques of data gathering.
"You Should Use Both." You know: just in case only one is insufficient to make a mocker of all personal rights and civil liberties.

Obama Is Reading Your Facebook

PRISM is specifically targeted at non-citizens living outside the United States, according to the Director of National Intelligence.
What's the NSA's legal basis for the investigations? It's rooted in a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, created by the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) of 2008. (....) "It cannot be used to intentionally target any U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person, or anyone located within the United States," added Clapper. He did, however, admit the possibility of "incidentally acquired information" about Americans under Section 702, but said the "acquisition, retention and dissemination" of that data is "minimized."
Clapper's statements about Section 702 are corroborated by documents about Section 702 posted by the American Civil Liberties Union. (...) Continue reading This Is the NSA's Legal Basis for Tapping Into Facebook and Google

June 7, 2013

UPDATE: Zerohedge has a roundup of what the loyal lap poodles of the mainstream press have to say. Well, key word: East Germany. The Atlantic notes:

TSA’s surveillance of our communications is most likely much, much bigger than [metadata]. Technology has made it possible for the American government to spy on citizens to an extent East Germany could only dream of.

(The Atlantic is correct.)
The New York Times Editorial Board says that Obama has lost all credibility (and slams defenders of the Big Brother spying program).. Read on..

• Top-secret Prism program claims direct access to servers of firms including Google, Apple and Facebook

• Companies deny any knowledge of program in operation since 2007

• Obama orders US to draw up overseas target list for cyber-attacks

Internet Corporations are denying cooperation with NSA.

BREAKING: The United Kingdom and European Union (German) are also caught up in NSA scandal. Even the UN special envoy for the freedom of speech, Frank La Rue has expressed his concern.

Slide depicting the top-secret PRISM program.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus is guest at the 2013 Bilderberg conference to help construct the 'big data' grid, the new frontier in spycraft. The subject is on Bilderberg's official agenda for 2013 ("How big data is changing almost everything", a reference to how the Internet is transforming the world of surveillance and the ability to foresee and manipulate future events).

At almost the exact same time, a Homeland Security subcommittee in the United States will also be discussing 'big data' and its implications in the context of social media. Bilderberg’s effort to push this agenda ties in with it's merger with Google. More here.. ...

It is therefore very ironic that today the news should break, that the biggest 'conspiracy theory' involving the NSA has become conspiracy fact!

The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets, according to a top-secret document obtained by The Washington Post.

The program, code-named PRISM, has not been made public until now. It may be the first of its kind. The NSA prides itself on stealing secrets and breaking codes, and it is accustomed to corporate partnerships that help it divert data traffic or sidestep barriers. But there has never been a Google or Facebook before, and it is unlikely that there are richer troves of valuable intelligence than the ones in Silicon Valley. Read on..

The Obama administration has been quietly collecting millions of telephone records from U.S. Verizon customers under a top-secret court order first obtained in late April, according to British newspaper The Guardian.
A copy of the classified order, posted Wednesday on the newspaper's website, reveals that Verizon has been required to provide to the National Security Agency on an "ongoing, daily basis" information on all phone calls made through its systems.

Dept. of Homeland Security Releases Keywords it is Patrolling on Social Media

Feel the urge to tweet about something trivial about the whether or your concern about cyber security, think again. You might use words that get to U.S. Department of Homeland Security sit up from its coffee break.

The U.K's Daily Mail reported that the DHS has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor various social networking sites. The list provides a glimpse into what DHS sees as "signs of terrorist threats".

The information sheds light how government analysts are instructed to monitor the internet looking for domestic and external threats.

What wasn't revealed is how the agency actually gains access to the various search engines and social networks to monitor the specified keywords. Perhaps they contracted with Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter to gain secure direct API access.

This type of access would enable DHS to use distributed cloud technologies to monitor the daily flow of social media and search activity in something close to real time.

Given the extent of the monitoring, this post itself may appear on the DHS radar, so please feel free to leave a comment with any insights.

Whistleblower Ed Snowden revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency is tapping straight into the servers of Microsoft, Google, Facebook and other tech giants. The PRISM program officially targets non US citizens outside the United States